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Wisconsin football recruiting: The impact of CB Travian Blaylock’s commitment to the Badgers

We say goodbye for now to the class of 2018 with the addition of the Humble, Texas, cornerback.

By Andrew Rosin

In less than a month, the Wisconsin Badgers went on an absolute tear in terms of landing commitments. Counting three-star running back Nakia Watson, who committed on June 10, the Badgers have landed nine of their 19 commitments in that span. It’s a run that likely ended on July 6 when the Badgers landed three-star Humble, Texas (Atascocita) cornerback Travian Blaylock.

What the Badgers get in Blaylock is a physical cornerback with great acceleration. His top-end speed isn’t considered a strength at present, but as his Hudl profile shows, he’s quite physical. You want a guy to help against the run? Blaylock does that. You want a guy who gets off the block and eats up the bubble screen? Blaylock does it. You want a real jam-up guy in man-to-man coverage? Hello, Travian Blaylock.

This was a recruiting process that was a battle. Blaylock visited Wisconsin and was all set to commit after the Badgers made their formal pitch... but Blaylock had a dream school who had a camp the next weekend. He went to Stanford and showed the skills that made the Badgers fall in love, earning a Cardinal offer. Stanford absolutely made it a tough decision, but between Jim Leonhard’s NFL pedigree and the persuasive efforts of fellow Badger commitment Reggie Pearson, it was Wisconsin who earned the commitment.

Blaylock also received offers from Air Force, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Kansas State, Memphis, and Washington State, along with multiple Ivy League schools and other programs.

For Wisconsin, four-star tight end Jeremy Ruckert and four-star linebacker Cameron McGrone are talented enough to chisel out a space for in this class. Otherwise, the Badgers aren’t going to be adding any commitments for at least the next couple of weeks. For a prospect like cornerback Marquis Williams who wants to make a National Signing Day decision, the Badgers may yet still be a take. The big job for them at this point is keeping this class together.

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